COCHRANE – Nadine Wellwood, People's Party of Canada (PPC) candidate for Banff-Airdrie, said she received a threatening email on Saturday (Sept. 21) suggesting it would be in her best interest to step away from her candidacy with the PPC.
The email, which indicates it is from a Rob Walker ([email protected]) stated:
"Nadine,
We are watching you. 24/7. We are always around. Antifa is keeping track of you. You need to not run for office for a Nazi Party if you don't want Antifa to pay attention to you.
Do you understand?
Presumably, the letter is a response to the PPC's platform promise to limit immigration coming into Canada and its stance against the nation's policies on multiculturalism, which it calls divisive.
Wellwood said the threatening correspondence was the second part of an odd evening.
"We were out doing debate prep at one of our campaign team's homes and we were driving back at 9:45ish (p.m.)," she recalled.
She was told by the officer that they were responding to a report of a middle-aged man driving drunk in a large Dodge Ram, which fit the description of Wellwood's partner Jason and their vehicle, but Jason wasn't driving.
"That's an interesting coincidence," she said, suggesting the same person who wrote the letter called the false claim into the RCMP.
Though the incidents are concerning, Wellwood said she is not backing down.
"I have never tolerated the bully in the schoolyard," said Wellwood, adding its disappointing that people are overtly trying to undermine the democratic process.
"These extreme organizations are using bullying tactics and threatening good, honest people," she said. 'This is how far people are willing to go to silence people.
"I've been stalked before and it is unsettling."
Though Wellwood isn't flinching from the letter, she did admit it is concerning considering she has a family and she has heard of two other female candidates with the PPC who have received similar threats. She adds it's interesting the candidates that have been targeted so far are only women.
Erika Traub, a PPC candidate in Waterloo, also posted on Facebook that she received a similar threatening letter.
You can view Wellwood's YouTube response to the letter here.
UPDATE:
In response to the story and disclosure by Wellwood about the email, the person who sent it provided the following statement:
"I regret sending the email. I reject PPC politics utterly. Not the right strategy.
"I am sorry. I should not have done this. There is no one else. Just me. And the Miramichi police are investigating me.
"I strongly suggest you reexamine your politics. You are not serving Canada well. But what I did was wrong too. I apologize.
"Every is equal. We can't hate. Even those we think are hating others.
"Do what you want. I won't contact you again.
"I tried to get you worried about people watching you. The only one I thought was watching was anyone who say you choose your party. I completely disagree with your politics. And I implied other were watching you. I only meant your political decisions and party phoices. I think the PPC agenda is evil. I still think it. I played word games with you. No one is watching you. I do not want you to worry or feel trauma. I stand by my position entirely. My tactics were horrible. Awful, regretable. I apololigize if I brought you fear. I want to say it was not my intention ... but perhaps it was. Which ... if it was, as so very wrong.
"It is over. I won't do anything else."
